Downward trend

[ditchparrot19]

Well, for the second straight year I've knocked 2 1/2 strokes off my index during the course of the year. After returning to the game in the summer of 2012 following a 12-year absence, I concluded that year at 15.3. I ended 2013 at 12.8 and now I'm down to 10.3. That's the second-lowest I've ever been – I was a 9.9 for a month back in the late '90s, not too long before starting my hiatus. My all-around game is much more solid now than it was back then, as it's built much less on the remnants of athleticism and far more on solid fundamentals.

I may have a chance to begin the new year as a single digit, as I just booked an 81 today and I'm playing in a skins game on Monday. I'm not going to bother doing the math myself, but I'm thinking a 79 or 80 might do it.

Oddly, I did not shoot a 79, 78 or 77 this year, but recorded a pair of 76s. Out of about 60 rounds played, the vast majority were in the low 80s. Only twice did I exceed 90, and those were on courses that I was playing for the first time.

How about you folks? Which way are you trending?

[RFKFREAK]

Well, for the second straight year I've knocked 2 1/2 strokes off my index during the course of the year. After returning to the game in the summer of 2012 following a 12-year absence, I concluded that year at 15.3. I ended 2013 at 12.8 and now I'm down to 10.3. That's the second-lowest I've ever been – I was a 9.9 for a month back in the late '90s, not too long before starting my hiatus. My all-around game is much more solid now than it was back then, as it's built much less on the remnants of athleticism and far more on solid fundamentals.

I may have a chance to begin the new year as a single digit, as I just booked an 81 today and I'm playing in a skins game on Monday. I'm not going to bother doing the math myself, but I'm thinking a 79 or 80 might do it.

Oddly, I did not shoot a 79, 78 or 77 this year, but recorded a pair of 76s. Out of about 60 rounds played, the vast majority were in the low 80s. Only twice did I exceed 90, and those were on courses that I was playing for the first time.

How about you folks? Which way are you trending?

Well, unfortunately, where I live you can't post a score officially for your HC b/w Nov. 1 and Apr. 15, but I've shot under 100 in three of the last four rounds that I've played since Nov. 11. which would have lowered my HC.

[ditchparrot19]

Well, unfortunately, where I live you can't post a score officially for your HC b/w Nov. 1 and Apr. 15

Huh. I'd never heard that one before, but I guess it makes sense considering the condition the courses are likely to be in.

I did know that black bass fishing (largemouth and smallmouth) is disallowed for much of the year in the Northeast. That one doesn't make sense – at least not to the extent that the practice is prohibited. A little catch-and-release action prior to late spring wouldn't hurt anything.

[RFKFREAK]

Huh. I'd never heard that one before, but I guess it makes sense considering the condition the courses are likely to be in.

Yeah, I guess they figure it's not fair to those of us who aren't playing in similar conditions as others that are posting scores in warmer winter climates.  Sort of sucks for me, though, since I may be in the middle of a hot streak!

I did know that black bass fishing (largemouth and smallmouth) is disallowed for much of the year in the Northeast. That one doesn't make sense – at least not to the extent that the practice is prohibited. A little catch-and-release action prior to late spring wouldn't hurt anything.

[Pretzel]

My handicap has been taking some leaps downwards over the last few years, and I can only hope that it keeps going that way.

Start 2011 (first year I kept a handicap): ~24

Start 2012: ~14

Start 2013: ~8

Start 2014: ~5

End of 2014: 2.3

So, according to the trend, I should be a +1 by this time next year right?

I wish it worked that way, but I'm just going to try to keep my momentum going through the winter this year. It's been tough in previous years since I often didn't pick up a club for months, but I've been lucky in that I have access to an indoor facility and have actually been able to golf most of December this year. Hopefully it says unseasonably warm in Colorado so I don't do much backsliding in the off-season before my first year (and hopefully competitive golf season) of college starts.

Huh. I'd never heard that one before, but I guess it makes sense considering the condition the courses are likely to be in.

Scores go way up when the greens bounce like a cartpath as it gets cold out. It's like playing on the PGA tour, except with it being physically impossible to stop the ball on the green instead of just difficult. Colorado has the same rules regarding handicap posting, and I generally consider myself to do well in frozen winter conditions if I score within 1 stroke each side of my handicap. You have to play it like links golf on a parkland course just to keep from hitting everything very long with bounces.

[ditchparrot19]

Really? I get flagged for three innocuous sentences on an unrelated but similar subject (the fact that both regs are foreign to somebody from another part of the country)?

Whatever, dude.

[RFKFREAK]

Really? I get flagged for three innocuous sentences on an unrelated but similar subject (the fact that both regs are foreign to somebody from another part of the country)?

Whatever, dude.

I was kidding around.

I regret if it didn't come across that way.  That's why I posted the " " along with it.

[Dave2512]

Need to play longer courses to trend down significantly next spring. Length plays a big part in course ratings here due to effective playing length/altitude. The course I played most this year is rated nearly two strokes under par. I can break 80 there, usually do, and the differential is 9.2 from back tees. The killer for me is I play mostly after work so limited to what is close and who is friendly to late day golfers. Some of the courses close don't offer times after 6PM. A few don't have 9 hole times so I have to pay 18 fees to play 9.

But I have trended down each year. I took up golf in April 2012 after not playing since 1995ish, really didn't play much after high school. When I started in 2012 I went out cold. I put together a set of Ping G 5's and headed to my parents club thinking we would spend some time on the range but they booked a tee time so off I went. Didn't finish one hole it was so bad. Within a few weeks I was scoring around 55 a side. Didn't start keeping a handicap until I was better a few months later, bogey golf range. At the end of 2012 I was 12.3. 2013 was hit and miss and I ended at 9.9. I struggled early 2014 not seeing much movement but after some quality instruction late June I started playing better golf Jul-Aug, hit a hot streak where I broke 80 8 of 10 rounds. But I golfed less than 10 times since 8/31 so I stalled.

I will trend down next year regardless because I learned quite a bit this year. I played 12/24 with little preparation and almost no practice since Aug and despite sloppy play on the front and frozen greens I broke 80. In summer conditions I would have scored 3-4 strokes better. I hit some great iron shots that didn't hold the hard greens and I couldn't save par, pitching and putting was just as bad because the frozen greens roll funny.

[Shindig]

How about you folks? Which way are you trending?

Overall? Down! From 18.x at the start of 2014, and, despite not really playing the last few months of 2013, managed to bring myself down to just over 15 by the end of summer... and promptly spent Fall not really playing. In that time, I took 3rd in my club's match play championship and also shot a career best round (still not sub-80) at my home course. I also shot two rounds over 100. Evolvr, LSW, and plenty of help from this site, especially +mvmac and +iacas.

[NJpatbee]

I was hoping to drop a couple of strokes off my 18 HCP and in spite of the first couple rounds of 2014 being over 100, I was starting to trend downward with an improved short game and for about 4 weeks had a low of 86 and nothing over 93.  I threw my back out and was sidelined for 6 weeks and when I started playing again, I started shanking every other short pitch and chip around the green.  Started getting rid of it but a cold and snowy November put an end to my playing.  Still hovering around 18 but I am seeing a chiropractor every other week and have started a fairly intensive back stengthening program.  Optimistic for 2015.

[goatlord]

Well, down, I guess, my EGA handicap was 54 in July 2013, now it is 15,8.